Militants linked with the Islamic State unleashed a wave of attacks on the military in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula on Wednesday, briefly seizing key checkpoints. As many as 70 soldiers and civilians were killed in one of the most sophisticated attacks on the Egyptian army in decades. Throughout the day, militants were perched on rooftops in Sheikh Zuweid, a town of 60,000, firing on security installations.

Zack Gold, a visiting fellow at the Institute for National Security Studies in Tel Aviv, said of the militants who now call themselves the "Sinai Province" of the Islamic State: "This isn't one of their regular hit-and-run attacks. They seem to be setting up for the longer haul." However, "the [Egyptian] military is more cohesive [than in Iraq] and has more firepower." (Washington Post)

For the third year in a row, Islamist militants targeted Egyptian security forces on a large scale during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan. Militants launched simultaneous attacks on checkpoints in Sheikh Zuweid and Rafah using car bombs and other weaponry. The Egyptian army used F-16 jet fighters, Apache helicopters and tanks to stop the militants. Maj.-Gen. Hisham El-Halaby said the total number of attackers exceeded 300. (Al-Ahram-Egypt)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Wednesday: "Terrorism is knocking on our borders. Islamic State is not only across from the Golan Heights, it is also in Egypt….We are together with Egypt and many other states in the Middle East and the world in the struggle against extreme Islamic terrorism." (Jerusalem Post)

The Israeli army deployed additional troops and was on high alert along its border with Egypt, Israel Radio reported Wednesday. The army was monitoring the fighting across the border using UAVs and was preparing for every scenario, including infiltration by jihadists. (Times of Israel)

The Egyptian security services had no advance warning of a major concerted operation that must have involved considerable planning. Their surprise was such that soldiers reacted sluggishly and only after having suffered significant losses. The Egyptian Army lacks Special Forces trained to fight in the desert and mountainous regions where terrorists are sheltering. Furthermore, the terrorists are aided and abetted by the local Bedouin population, neglected for decades by the Cairo government.

Egyptian President Sisi is not getting any help from the U.S. or Europe, both still calling him a military dictator who forcibly ejected a democratically elected president. Neither understood that Muslim Brotherhood President Morsi was about to set up an Islamic dictatorship. The writer, a fellow of the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, is a former ambassador to Romania, Egypt, and Sweden. (Jerusalem Post)